Jiang Nan closed her notebook and carefully studied the visitor: the very picture of beauty in this era—an oval face, jade‑like fair skin, almond eyes, a delicate nose, medium height, a graceful figure, and a gentle temperament, like a lily—elegant yet resilient.
Compared to the sharp prettiness of the original Jiang Nan, who had grown gaunt and severe over the past two years, this woman was indeed more pleasing.
“Sister‑in‑law, are you feeling better?” The voice was soft and tender. Seeing half a bowl of noodles left untouched, she quickly asked with concern, “No appetite? Or are you feeling unwell? Should I call Brother to take you to the hospital?”
Such a string of caring words would earn her praise as “a thoughtful younger sister.” But in truth, this was only Jiang Nan’s second meeting with her husband’s younger sister.
During her week in the hospital, the girl hadn’t visited once, claiming she had to stay home to look after three children while their mother and elder brother were busy. On the day of discharge, Jiang Nan’s husband, Cheng Denglin, carried her through the door, and they barely exchanged a glance. In the eight days since, while Jiang Nan observed her confinement, the younger sister never stepped into her room, though she often asked Cheng Denglin about her health—never directly to Jiang Nan herself.
Anyone seasoned in the workplace would recognize the tactic: her sister‑in‑law’s actual condition mattered little, but the show of concern had to be visible to the doting elder brother. Now, “condescending” to enter the room and putting on such a display—she clearly had an agenda.
Jiang Nan kept her composure, glanced at the oily noodles, and answered with feigned fussiness: “I’m not uncomfortable. Just tired of eating chicken and drinking chicken soup every day.”
As expected, a flicker of awkwardness crossed the younger woman’s face. Jiang Nan found it amusing and pressed further: “I’m not breastfeeding. Eating such bland food all the time—of course I’m sick of it. Mother never thinks to change the flavor…”
Perhaps hearing her complain about her own mother was too much; the younger sister couldn’t bear it and interrupted: “Sister‑in‑law, chicken soup nourishes you during confinement. Mother means well—she hopes you’ll recover quickly.”
Jiang Nan smiled again. Recover quickly—for what? To serve the Cheng family like a beast of burden?
Cheng Yixin’s brows tightened almost imperceptibly. She felt her sister‑in‑law’s gaze and tone were strangely off today, and Jiang Nan’s words always seemed to disrupt her rhythm. This couldn’t continue. Abandoning small talk, she unfolded a twenty‑yuan note and held it out, explaining her purpose: “Sister‑in‑law, expenses at home have been heavy lately. I want to contribute, but whenever I give money to Father, Mother, or Brother, they return it. I really have no choice but to come to you.” She pushed the money closer. “Please, give this to Mother in your name. But don’t let Brother or our parents know—otherwise they’ll just hand it back to me again.”
The heroine appeared thoughtful, showing concern for the family’s pressing financial troubles and even offering a small sum of support. On the surface, everything looked harmonious and kind.
Unfortunately, Jiang Nan was unmoved. A flash of mockery crossed her eyes—so this was why the heroine had come: to remind her that the household was strapped for cash, all while playing wingman for her mother!
Had the “Jiang Nan” of today still been the original soul, she would have bristled with pride, never agreeing to pass off her sister‑in‑law’s money as her own. She would have refused, clenched her teeth, and inevitably thought of how hard her husband worked to support the family alone. That guilt would have driven her to get up and return to work.
But the Cheng family’s mother‑daughter scheme had run into a change of fate—the fool had been swapped out.
This Jiang Nan was different. She counted every penny, felt no affection for Cheng Denglin, and had no intention of pitying a man. Not only would she take the money—she thought it far too little!
So Jiang Nan snatched the two “Great Unity” notes from Cheng Yixin’s hand, her face instantly clouded with worry, and began to complain: “Since you’re so considerate, little sister, why don’t you also cover the compensation to the Zhou family, along with my surgery and medical expenses? You know these past two years, ‘I’ and your brother have been supporting the whole household, without saving a cent. Now all of a sudden we’ve had to spend so much—we really can’t manage. Please, show us some understanding.”
Without giving her sister‑in‑law a chance to reply, Jiang Nan swiftly flipped her notebook to the last page and began calculating line by line:
“Your brother bought a down jacket identical to Zhou family’s little girl’s, plus postage: 37.9 yuan. The apology visit to the Zhou family—fruit, milk powder, canned goods, tea, and tobacco: 32 yuan. My surgery, medicine, and nutrition—partly reimbursed by the factory, but we still paid 74.6 yuan ourselves. That totals 144.5 yuan. Since this mess was caused jointly by Xiaoxiao and Cheng Hao, our families should split it evenly. Little sister, you owe me 72.25 yuan.”
As she spoke, Jiang Nan wrote it all down, then tore the page cleanly from the notebook with a sharp rip and held it up for Cheng Yixin to inspect.
Cheng Yixin stared at the bold strokes on the squared paper, her mouth suddenly dry. She swallowed unconsciously, struggling to maintain her graceful composure. Her instincts were right—today her sister‑in‑law was truly acting out of character!
In the past, she had done similar things—offering money as a mere gesture—but her sister‑in‑law would never accept it. Yet today, Jiang Nan had snatched the twenty yuan without hesitation and even demanded another seventy‑plus!
Cheng Yixin could hardly believe it. Was she dreaming? Her mind was filled with disbelief.
Jiang Nan gave a cold laugh. Had they grown so used to bleeding her dry that even a little “interest” was intolerable? This was marital property of the original wife, and Jiang Nan had inherited it fairly—no one could cheat her out of a single cent.
Seeing her sister‑in‑law stunned into silence, Jiang Nan pressed on: “Little sister, you haven’t saved the money from selling your job yet, have you? Perfect. Hand it over to me now—your brother and I are really strapped for cash.”
At that, Cheng Yixin froze. Of course she didn’t want to give it, but she had no excuse to refuse. She was caught in a bind, regretting bitterly that she had volunteered to help her mother.
“What money?” A voice cut in just in time.
Whew—Cheng Yixin quietly exhaled in relief.
Jiang Nan turned her head. There stood Mother Cheng, apron tied at her waist, wiping hands that showed not a trace of water or grease. She looked ready to collect the dishes, but had “accidentally” overheard their conversation.
Jiang Nan gazed at the mother‑daughter pair with a half‑smile. All their scheming seemed to be aimed squarely at the original host.
“What money were you just talking about?” Neither answered. Mother Cheng asked again.
Jiang Nan skipped over the twenty yuan just given by her sister‑in‑law and offered her own explanation to Mother Cheng. It wasn’t that she wanted to hide it—wasn’t the younger sister hoping to keep her “good deed” secret? Jiang Nan was happy to oblige.
Sure enough, the mother and daughter’s expressions darkened. They hadn’t expected Jiang Nan to truly say nothing at all about the twenty yuan.
As for the other half of the compensation, Mother Cheng flatly refused: “The matter of the burned jacket was Haohao being mischievous and going too far. Yes, he claimed he was venting for Xiaoxiao, but Xiaoxiao didn’t give him the idea, nor did she drag him along. What does this have to do with her? And the child that was lost—that was Haohao…”
At this point, Mother Cheng sighed. Losing her eldest granddaughter hurt her too. “Xiaonan, I know you’re upset, but you can’t take it out on Xiaoxiao, demanding money from your sister. Are you still brooding over your father giving the job to her instead of you? Let me tell you, you and Denglin shouldn’t even think about it. That was your father’s job to give, and we’ll give it to whomever we choose…”
“Mother!” Seeing her mother pile accusation after accusation onto her head, trying to shift the topic, Jiang Nan quickly raised her hand to cut her off. “Let’s stick to the matter at hand—don’t drag in other things!”
That job she truly wasn’t thinking about—for now. But there were parts she *could* think about, just not yet. Meals are eaten one bite at a time; debts are collected piece by piece. Her immediate goal was to secure the seventy‑two yuan and twenty‑five cents.
“You’re Haohao’s grandmother. You know his temperament and who he usually plays with better than I do. Do you really think, if not for Xiaoxiao, Haohao would have gone out of his way to play with a four‑ or five‑year‑old girl and set off firecrackers together? And besides, Director Zhou has shown kindness to Denglin. He’s taken Haohao to the Zhou household more than once, and we’ve never heard of any quarrels between the children. With his father’s attitude toward the Zhou family so clear, do you think Haohao would bully their child for no reason?”
No—Mother Cheng understood. Haohao only liked playing with children his own age or older. Except for Xiaoxiao, he had no patience for little girls who couldn’t keep up. She knew full well that everything had started because of Xiaoxiao. Yet whenever she thought of her daughter widowed so young, and of Xiaoxiao and Mingsheng losing their father at such tender ages, her heart softened. After all, Haohao had already been punished, and her son had more or less settled the matter—why dig deeper and make Xiaoxiao suffer needlessly?
Now her daughter‑in‑law was demanding that her poor daughter shoulder half the expenses. Mother Cheng would never agree, insisting stubbornly that Xiaoxiao had nothing to do with it.
Jiang Nan saw clearly that the mother and daughter knew the truth but refused to admit it, arguing back and forth that Haohao had acted on his own. Her eyes gleamed with mockery. When they finally fell silent, she feigned sudden realization, clapping her hands exaggeratedly: “So that’s it! Mother, you and little sister don’t think Xiaoxiao did anything wrong. No wonder—here I was wondering why such a sensible girl hadn’t shown the slightest gesture all this time. And Xiaoxiao too—still unrepentant. Just the other day I heard her egging Haohao and Mingsheng on, telling them to rally the other children in the compound to isolate the Zhou family’s kids.”
“What?” Mother Cheng had been bristling at her daughter‑in‑law’s sarcastic tone, but that last sentence hit her like a hammer to the head.
Xiaoxiao was still targeting the Zhou children?
“You didn’t know?” Jiang Nan said, looking as if she were enjoying the show. “They’ve plotted it at home several times.”
“Why didn’t you stop them!” Mother Cheng burst out, furious and anxious.
The Zhou family had done them a great kindness. If Director Zhou hadn’t insisted on recommending Denglin among the candidates for the Workers‑Peasants‑Soldiers University, Cheng Denglin would never have had the chance to work in a government department. And now, because of childish squabbles, a life had been lost. The Zhou family had every right to be angry, yet could only swallow their grievance. The bond between the two families was broken, never to return. And Xiaoxiao was still stirring up trouble. If the other parents heard, they would surely accuse the Chengs of being ungrateful—let alone the Zhou family themselves!
Mother Cheng’s usual gentle temper vanished. Face dark, she strode out, calling as she went: “Xiaoxiao, Haohao, come here—I have something to ask you…”
Then came the slam of a door. She had taken them into a room to interrogate them.
Unable to hear what followed, Jiang Nan turned mockingly to her sister‑in‑law: “See, little sister, when children make mistakes, if they’re neither taught nor punished, they think they’ve done nothing wrong—or that mistakes come at no cost. Then they’ll dare again. Xiaoxiao is clearly like that. So this money should be considered the price of her lesson. You ought to give it to me.”
Cheng Yixin flushed with anger and shame, unable to find a rebuttal. Her image wouldn’t allow her to make excuses to shirk responsibility, but handing over more than seventy yuan pained her deeply. She could only grit her teeth and say, “Sister‑in‑law, I will teach my child. But Xiaoxiao is still young. Please don’t use such harsh words like ‘instigating’ to describe her. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude.”
“Of course,” Jiang Nan agreed readily. If Lu Xiaoxiao stopped doing such things, she naturally wouldn’t use that word.
Her calm, quick assent left Cheng Yixin choking on her own breath, unable to vent. Nothing was going right today! She bit her lip, ready to leave—only to be stopped again by that infuriating voice.
“Little sister, Mother forgot to take this. Bring it out for me.” Jiang Nan jerked her chin toward the bowl of noodles on the bedside table.
Cheng Yixin was stunned by her shamelessness, eyes widening. After two seconds, she drew a deep breath, picked up the bowl, and endured the even more brazen remark: “Hold it steady—if you drop it, your mother and brother will have to clean up.” Without looking back, she walked out.